Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley was a botanist who led a secret life as the eco-terrorist Poison Ivy. Contrasting the majority of Batman's foes, Ivy had little interest in money or power, but instead was obsessed with preserving plant life, and taking revenge against those who she believed had harmed it. Her ruthless methods frequently landed her in Arkham Asylum.

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Holding a PhD in botany from Gotham University, Pamela Isley was once in employment with Chez Gerard, a cosmetics firm, as a examination chemist in charge of developing new fragrances. She also offered a weekly oration series at the university on rare and extinct plant species. She always attempted to protect plants from humans and saved a specimen of a rare flower before the land they grew on was used to build Stonegate Penitentiary.

Batman at the mercy of Poison Ivy

Later, she either met with District Attorney Harvey Dent, and the two began courting. Unknown to Dent, Isley regarded him as a "murderer" for his part in organizing the diggings of land for the future site of Stonegate Penitentiary. The dig had involved flattening a meadow of wildflowers, containing a rare wild rose that would have become extinct, had she not protected it prior. Suitably, she used an abstract from the rose to produce a rare and lethal toxin, which she transferred to Harvey via a deep kiss. Harvey fell into a coma and was not estimated to survive.

As a personal acquaintance of Dent's, Bruce Wayne investigated the crime as Batman. Ascertaining the source of the toxin, Batman confronted Isley, who revealed her nom-de-crime, "Poison Ivy", at her conservatory sanctuary. In the subsequent skirmish, Batman seized the rose as a "hostage," forcing Ivy to surrender the remedy she had developed. Batman succeeded in saving Harvey's life, and Ivy was, ironically, imprisoned in Stonegate.[1]

Later on, after having either escaped or been released, Ivy opened an all-natural resort spa outside Gotham, using the alias "Dr. Daphne Demeter." The "Eternal Youth Spa" was the lure through which Ivy attracted rich business men and women guilty of certain ecological wrongdoings, and she "treated" them with plant-derived pollutants, which transmuted the people into plants themselves.

Dr. Daphne Demeter

Through an unlucky accident, a gluttonous Wayne Enterprises executive had made a deal with a South American business to level a section of the Amazon rain forest, before Wayne halted it. Ivy beset Wayne for his supposed part in the deal, and Alfred Pennyworth attended in Bruce's place at a free spa retreat. After Alfred vanished, Batman swiftly realised the doctor's real identity, and stopped Ivy's plans once more.[2]

After one more escape, she was arrested at the Stacked Deck Club, over a poker game with The Joker, The Penguin, and Two-Face. Before the game, she traded a few amused nostalgias with her "old flame," Harvey Dent (the amusement was entirely one-sided).[3]

Time passed, and Ivy had appeared to have reverted to a ordinary life. Released from Arkham Asylum, Isley moved away from Gotham City, wedded her therapist, and encompassed his two children as her own. In spite of strange plant-related happenings going on, Batman and Robin were incapable to link any link to Isley. Regrettably, Ivy had purely deceived them. Fashioning plant beasts to act as duplicates of her "family", Ivy had not only produced a genuine façade for her undertakings, but also made a small drone factory. Though Batman and Robin once again foiled her and her plans, Ivy yet again escaped. After failing to meet the mental necessities for rehabilitation, Ivy returned to Arkham and was present for the Trial of Batman. She acted as a juror and as a "witness", affirming towards Batman's connection in her creation as a villainess.

From a mere chance meeting during a heist at the Gotham Museum, sparked one of Poison Ivy's most distinctive interactions. Harley Quinn, freshly cast out of the Joker's gang, helped Ivy escape the Gotham Police. Though the characters of the two appeared utterly contradictory, their (somewhat) mutual objectives drew them together into a daunting duo. Harley appeared to thrive on the practice of an honestly caring partner, while Ivy appreciated Harley's streak of fun and inventiveness, though she was frustrated by Harley's steadfast dedication to "that psychotic creep," The Joker.

Not long after uniting, they took Gotham by storm with a crime spree. Labelled "The Queens of Crime", their actions went unstopped for a long time. Regardless of his best efforts, Batman was unable to capture both damsels, and only after their home was destroyed by The Joker were they eventually captured by Renee Montoya.

Poison Ivy has a unique genetic immunity from all forms of poisons and toxins, including Joker Venom. However in exchange for this immunity, she admits she is infertile.

Ivy is also a chemist. Combined with her botanical background, Ivy frequently concocts poisons, toxins, and serums designed to kill, transform, or protect, depending on her purpose and needs.

Throughout her criminal career, she also had the ability to secrete potent pheromones that could make her (or her plant creatures) irresistible to men (notably Harvey Dent).

She is also a uniquely skilled plant geneticist, able to create large and semi-sentient plant creatures that act as her henchmen.

In personal combat, Ivy is a skilled gymnast and martial artist and was skilled enough to defeat Batman hand to hand once in the series. Additionally, She carries a miniature repeater crossbow on her right wrist, which she typically uses as a last resort.

She also uses a pink car in her plights with the number plate: "ROSEBUD".